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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (37-14) aims to add another marquee mid-week victory to its resume in the final week of the regular season, traveling to Boca Raton to take on Florida Atlantic. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m., and the game is available to view on
FAUSports.TV.
The Eagles are 7-4 in mid-week games this season, but are 1-2 against the Owls in 2023. FGCU outlasted FAU 8-7 last week in Swanson Stadium – the eighth victory at the time in the Green & Blue's previous nine games.
FGCU endured a tough weekend in ASUN Conference play, dropping Friday and Saturday decisions on the road at North Florida before winning the series finale 10-2. That series setback moved FGCU into second place in the ASUN, a game behind Lipscomb, with three games remaining this weekend.
Even with the two losses, the Eagles are still the most powerful offensive program in college baseball – leading the nation with 120 home runs (a nation-best 2.35 per game) and a .592 slugging percentage. FGCU is also second nationally with 503 runs, and second in scoring at 9.9 runs per game.
Sophomore infielder
Edrick Felix (
Orlando, Fla./Victory Charter HS/College of Central Florida) is the hottest hitter in FGCU's lineup. Felix is hitting .383 with 20 doubles, 23 home runs, and 71 RBIs. The 23 homers are a single-season FGCU record, and Felix's 171 total bases lead the nation. Felix's .818 slugging percentage has him on pace to become the only Eagle in school history to slug over .800, and also to demolish the school record of .738 set by Zach Maxfield in 2009.
Felix is far from alone. Seven every-day Eagles are hitting at least .300, with senior designated hitter
Joe Kinker (
North Port, Fla./Venice HS) at .371 with 17 homers and 68 RBIs. Kinker broke FGCU's all-time home run record earlier this season (47 by Nick Rivera in 2013-17), and currently has 59 homers. Four more Eagles have hit at least 13 homers in 2023, and FGCU is the only program in the nation with at least 110 doubles and 110 homers.
The Owls won two of three games over the weekend against Louisiana Tech, winning Saturday's game in a program-record 16 innings and then taking Sunday's finale in 10 innings.
Nolan Schanuel delivered the walk-off single in Sunday's win and has reached base safely in 47 straight games. Schanuel ranks in the top two nationally in on-base percentage (first), walks (first), batting average (second), and slugging percentage (second). His 45 career home runs are third all-time, two away from the FAU program record.
FAU is also looking for a high-profile mid-week victory heading into its final weekend. The Owls close out their Conference USA slate beginning Thursday when they travel to UAB. The C-USA postseason tournament begins next week in Houston, and FAU could be seeded as high as third or as low as eighth depending on the final weekend results.
FGCU sends freshman left-hander
Chase Kriebel (
Shippenville, Pa./Clarion Area HS) to the mound Tuesday, opposed by FAU's Bryan Boully.
The Eagles – who have already clinched a spot in the ASUN Championship in DeLand, Fla. – conclude the 2023 regular season with a three-game home series against Kennesaw State (23-27, 12-15) beginning at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
For complete coverage of FGCU baseball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_Baseball and online at http://www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU baseball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting http://www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS, MINI PLANS AVAILABLE
Tickets for the 2023 FGCU baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTickets.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10 or more people – making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.
COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach
Dave Tollett currently owns a 708-422-3 overall record (.627) and a 247-138 (.642) record in the ASUN. He is the only head coach in the program's history and led the program to its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2017. He is a five-time ASUN Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to five ASUN Regular Season Championships and one ASUN Tournament Championship. His team has been ranked nationally on several occasions, including as high as No. 9 in the country in 2017, and has coached 63 all-conference selections, 33 draft picks, three current major leaguers, 13 current minor leaguers, four ASUN Pitchers of the Year, four All-Americans, three ASUN Players of the Year, two National Freshman All-Americans, one National Freshman Player of the Year, one National Player of the Year and one seven-time MLB All-Star.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 98 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 49 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Nine FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 20 in 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 15 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20 in 2022), and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as five of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.57 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019-Fall 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
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